Treasure in an Old Desk Drawer

Last week I was looking through the drawers of an old desk in our den that has become a catch-all of sorts through the years. Maybe you have one of those, too. It’s where you stick everything you really want to keep but have no time to file. I was searching for a picture of our house the year we bought it so that I could work it into a decoupage of our many years here. Ultimately, I found the picture elsewhere but I stumbled on a treasure while rummaging around in that drawer that sent me into a tailspin of memories.

First, the back-story because I bet some of you can relate.

I well remember being in the throes of family life and wondering from season to season whether or not we’d even make it. Or, if we made it, would we be glad we did?? Life is hard as it is. It’s even harder when two people have as many problems as we did. Both Keith and I brought heaps of issues into our marriage. Some we fell victim to. Some we inherited. Some we created. Some we earned through our own sinfulness and stubbornness. Some we passed right on to our beloved children, God forgive us. Like many of you, the odds were stacked against us and I knew – I’m saying I absolutely KNEW – that Jesus was the only way we were going to make it. Furthermore, He was not likely to do it without us.

The quandary was how we were going to head a certain direction if my man didn’t necessarily want to take the lead. What happens, sisters, when you (who are moms) feel strongly that your children need to be led a certain strong (Biblical) direction but you do not want to usurp your husband? And he’s not feeling so led? Even as I pose that question, I know full well that our simple blog format is not big enough to come up with crystal-clear, no-fail answers to those loaded questions. Yet, it’s part of our family story and a part my man does not mind me sharing. He’s never been much for bull. Or pretense, if you like that word better. Keith walked the aisle as a public profession of faith and was baptized right before we got engaged and, as clearly as I knew, that’s all that mattered. That might explain the timing. Grin. It was real. But it was also a prerequisite.

My man is a believer in Jesus Christ. He bears fruit of the Holy Spirit’s activity. He has often prayed over me and over our family with a power that left me bug-eyed and bereft of natural explanation. But he has still been very much his own man with his own idea of how he wanted to practice his faith. He was a maverick. He’s still a maverick. The harder you push him, the slower he goes. He sets his own pace or he walks alone. He is also God’s chosen man for me…and my chosen man before God. I cannot imagine my life without the likes of Ivan Keith Moore.

Rewind 15 or so years to those days when we had young adolescents under our roof who not only needed human direction (which both parents gave), they needed divine intervention. So did their parents, and in the worst way.

I did lots of reading in those days just like I do now. I’d read about how many godly homes practiced what they called a “family altar time.” They prayed together on a regular basis and maybe the parents even led in a family devotion. We didn’t do anything like that except when we were in a full-on crisis. (I am so thankful that we did it then, needless to say. I don’t want to be harder on us than our history really calls for.) We did a little more moderate version of “the family that prays together stays together.” Keith and I prayed at mealtime with our kids and, then, on numerous other occasions when something called for an extra measure of attention. I guess one of the most spiritual things we did along the way was simply ask for forgiveness when we were idiots to them or in front of them.

I’d long-since been practicing a morning quiet time and certainly prayed for my family members then but I knew that the greater victory in our family was somehow going to involve all of us…some how, on some level. I’d learned through the years that guilt-tripping your husband into spiritual leadership wasn’t going to bear much fruit or last over the long haul. And let me just go ahead and say the embarrassingly obvious. Would the man ever have done it consistently like I thought it should be done???? Could he have lived up to whatever expectation I had? I assure you, this man got more than he bargained for when he married. He had not signed up for all of this.

So, what was a woman to do?

I was stuck on the whole family altar thing. I’d convinced myself that it was the key. (I’m not saying it was. I’m just saying that I believed to the bone that it was.) “Family altar” was the buzz phrase of all the families that seemed to be doing it right. (It’s interesting how spiritual terms have fads, isn’t it?)  So I figured out how we could have an adaptable experience without Keith being forced to take charge of it or me taking authority over him in the eyes of my children (or, as importantly, in his own eyes).

I got an idea.

I set up a little altar area on the hearth in our den. It had a journal for recording any prayer requests that members of our family wanted to share. It was solid gold to me. Sometimes they’d write “unspoken” and you know what that does to a nosy mother. What they didn’t realize is that, most of the time, Mom had already figured out that “unspoken” request. I also set out an age-appropriate devotional book on the hearth.Here is a picture of our makeshift “family altar.” The only reason I have this picture is because our dogs loved to lay on the cushion that I’d set out. We used to say they were having their quiet times.

I also got up earlier than the rest of the household in the morning and chose a verse for that day for our family. Most often I’d select it from my own time with God but sometimes circumstances dictated the choice. I’d write the Scripture with a Sharpie on an index card then lay it out on the altar. Everybody in our family was invited to kneel at that altar one at a time when they first got up in the morning. (Well, OK, only Keith was really “invited.” The girls were strongly urged. As their mother, I could full well take that authority over them.) After they read the verse, they were asked to sign the index card.

So, this is what I found the other day in that old desk drawer: Scripture card after Scripture card after Scripture card after Scripture card.

Some of them were signed by all four of us:

It was okay to be a little silly and even throw in an occasional nickname. Keith alone knows why he tagged Amanda as “Rooter” when she was a little kid. Most of our nicknames have morphed into much weirder tags in recent years.

A number of times Keith opted out and that had to be fine, too.We weren’t his boss.

On occasion, it would just be two of us:

Or another two of us:

Sometimes I’d add a little extra encouragement because it would break my heart wide-open with love to see those young teenage girls taking their turns at that altar in their jammies.

One girl obviously didn’t get to see that encouragement that morning.Laughing. I love them both so much.

It was a very imperfect shot at the whole thing. In fact, I can’t convey strongly enough that I hope you’ll receive this only as a simple short story in the lives of God and a family of four Moores. It’s not meant to be an example of a discipline you should take up. It was too messy to turn into a science. It’s just what worked for a season for us. We still made it on the grace of God alone.

I glance back over my shoulder at those turbulent years and recall a home bulging with hormones and woes, fears and foes, maybe too many yeses and not enough nos. Like every woman, I wish I could cut and paste our family story into all that sparkles and nothing that stinks. Like most women, there are a few things I wish I could blot out. Maybe more than most women, I have some sizable regrets. But, that day last week when I went looking for a photograph in that old desk drawer, I found a whole handful of our family life, held it close to my heart, and remembered.

Deuteronomy 4:23 “Be careful not to forget…”

1 Chronicles 16:12 “Remember the wonders He has done…”

 

 

 

 

 

Share

426 Responses to “Treasure in an Old Desk Drawer”

If you'd like your own pic by your comment, go to Gravatar.com. Click the first button "Get your gravatar today ->", and it will walk you through a simple process to select a picture.

Comments:

  1. 1
    Kat says:

    Thank-you for this post…especially the last paragraph and the verses…this heart needed it today.

  2. 2
    Mindy, Granger, IN says:

    I have 3 daughters, now ages 15, 18, and 19, and we have gone through seasons of “family devotions” and many frustrating dry spells. (Focus on the Family Tool Box series worked best for us when the kids were little, as a once a week fun/devotional time.) Praying together in the living room before bed most nights, has been a practice that binds us to each other and to God. This summer with my college student home (and before my next one leaves too) I’m “forcing” the whole family to do the Living Beyond Yourself study. It has been GREAT for all of us and we all look forward to our Wed. night Bible study. Instead of correction or challenge coming from me, I can ask if “Beth” has been hard on them this week:) It seems God has used you, Beth, to convict and encourage each one of us! I love your studies (which my mom introduced me to and bought me Believing God – which I have shared with oodles of people.) Thanks for making family devotions powerful and applicable for us at this point in our lives!!!!!

    • 2.1
      Yanna Westmoreland says:

      Mindy I was so moved by your family studying Beth’s studies together, what a lovely tribute to Beth and her love and service for God.

  3. 3
    Kim Vest says:

    Miss Beth,
    Love this post. I think you are just getting even sweeter and sweeter.
    Have a wonderful day,
    Kim

  4. 4
    Jenna says:

    Thanks so much for sharing. It’s, in an odd way, a comfort to know you’re not the only one going through those things in your life!

  5. 5
    Kristin says:

    Thank you so much for this post. There are times when Satan gets into my head and fills it with thoughts that it is only in my family that there are times the husband doesn’t feel as led as the wife 🙂 Sometimes it is difficult for me to be a Godly submissive wife. It simply wasn’t modeled for me while growing up. Thank you for being a role model for me!

  6. 6
    thank you says:

    Thank you for this post. This was just for me. I needed to hear that Jesus was the only One that can bring my marriage through daily living. Your marriage has been the biggest source of encouragement for my marriage for 6 years. I am married to a maverick type guy and it is hard… especially, church.

    Thank you for sharing.

  7. 7
    Karen says:

    Good Morning, Beth just a beautiful post! Our seasons of life…..the good the bad and the ugly 🙂 Jesus takes us thru. Thank you Lord. I cherish the memories as a new “empty nester”. It’s my hubby and I now, once again so strange but exciting at the same time. Miss those babies but really they are grown. A new season Beth. Blessings, Karen Thank for your post!

  8. 8
    vida ursic says:

    How timely,as I read psalm 5 this morning and wept as i used this very model for my own home after reading Feathers from My Nest 9 years ago then asking permission from husband (not saved yet) and our sons (who are now college graduates and out of the home) this very process became the greatest spot in the house and to this day I have inserted all those scripture cards into a photo album (the kind that you can turn and look at daily). Thank you Beth for obeying the Lord’s clear instruction on how to instruct us..Isaiah 55:11 love vida

  9. 9
    JV says:

    There are no words to express what this post means to me this morning. I needed “a word” this morning & what I got was “The Word”. You see what ministered to where I am this morning is not necessarily what you wrote, although it is beautiful. What ministered to me was one of the verses on the actual card!!! How I needed that verse just now!!!!

    Thank you for sharing those index cards. I sit here – tears streaming.

  10. 10

    What a great idea, Beth. So glad it worked for you guys. Thanks so much for sharing so honestly. So many of us have had the same questions to wrestle with. Blessings to you!

  11. 11
    Barbara Head says:

    I will never forget the day I heard you, Beth, say that God has released you from being in charge of Keith’s spiritual life. I had struggled so much with this over the years in my own marriage. I decided that day to pray earnestly for God to release me to love Troy just as God had made him and to trust God to do any changing in him. I discovered that day that I am NOT God (praise the Lord)!
    I also found a very early picture of my firstborn grandchild and knew that I knew that my awesome God had given me a second chance to become a Godly example in my walk with Him. Thank you, sweet Beth, for this post. I am sitting here at my computer simply blubbering bdfore Him.

    • 11.1
      Beth says:

      I love you and your tender heart, Barbara. I miss seeing you so much! Your daughter in law KILLED IT at Deeper Still. You would have been so proud of her and so full of praise to God that you may have done a cartwheel!

    • 11.2
      Jo Ann says:

      Barbara,

      Just wanted to tell you that my heart lept with happines when I read “knew that I knew that my awesome God had given me a second chance to become a Godly example in my walk with Him.” I look forward to that blessing too, if God grants!

    • 11.3
      Patti says:

      Hi Barbara,
      We are expecting our first grandchild at the end of August and I have prayed for my little Nathanael every day since we found out he was on the way. I can’t say the same about my husband or two sons. Without being too hard on myself, let me just say that perhaps I was just too busy trying to reshape them. I totally get what you are saying about how freeing it is to let go and let God do the changing. He is so faithful. Our two sons are married and with their wives, serve in the Special Needs ministry of our church. We didn’t get it all right when we were raising them, but God has visited His mercy on the next generation of our family and for that I don’t have words to express my gratitude. Your comment really resonated with me so I couldn’t pass on the opportunity to respond.
      By His Spirit,
      Patti Hayes

  12. 12
    Barb says:

    Beth, Thank you for your honesty. I am in the midst of raising teens and dealing with living in a situation that wasn’t my dream of how things would be…:) I, too, am at a crossroads in many ways in my marriage. It is so encouraging to know that you faced many of the same things and came out on the other side. I am struggling so much right now and your words were so encouraging to me. Thank you again…

    • 12.1
      Sarah says:

      Barb,

      My mom had a similar story when I was a teenager. To this day she counts those years as the hardest she’s ever dealt with. She looks back on those years and sees hardship and struggle and a testing of her faith. I look back and see the woman who taught me how when life and pain brought me to my knees to get back up with eyes solely focused on Jesus. My mom is a mighty warrior. As are you. Don’t ever believe anything less, your children believe it even if they don’t know it yet :). Praying for your family.

      • Barb says:

        Sarah
        You don’t know how your words have encouraged and given me hope! Thank you so much….you brought tears to my eyes and a new commitment to persevere! God bless you!

  13. 13
    Cindy says:

    Thank you…I needed this encouragement sooooo bad!!…I too know that Jesus will be the only way my family survives…I cling to that..

  14. 14
    Bonnie Reilly says:

    I look forward every morning to checking LPM Blog, hoping to see a new posting. Thank you so much for sharing this morning about your “Family Alter” time. I always smile, tear up and Praise God for what you share. I hope you have a Blessed day. Thank you

  15. 15
    Lindsey says:

    Thank you for this encouragement! God’s timing is always so perfect…

  16. 16
    Melissa says:

    Did you happen to notice that just you and Melissa signed the verse in James …. beautiful things planned long ago. His ways are so marvelous.

  17. 17
    Gena says:

    Thank you. That’s a beautiful story. I am always encouraged when you share about your Keith. It helps me know that my husband is not an alien, just a man. And I shouldn’t try to make him into my idea of what that should be. Sometimes the hardest thing in the world is to just keep my mouth shut and send those thoughts and prayers up to God instead.

  18. 18
    ForeverHis says:

    That was so sweet. Made me remember as well. We too had so many struggles but God is good and continues to see us through. Thank you for sharing your life.

    Lawan
    Phil 4:8

  19. 19
    Jina says:

    Beth,

    I love this post. Our 4 kids are just walking through the door of adolesence (10,11,13,14). They are becoming more articulate and able to share some of their thoughts about their childhood (thus far). My husband and I have come from dark places, severely needing redemption.

    As God has given us truth that replaced the lies that crept their way onto the walls of our hearts, we passed those truths onto the kids. They are beautiful examples of one of God’s life phrases/promises for me. It is even on my license plate. HS GRCE. What would we do without it? He continues to peel back layers of His grace and I marvel at how something so simple could be so complex.

    I am eternally grateful for His mark on my kids. He owns that annointing and call on their lives. When I get overwhelmed by my mess, I fall back to the truth that “He alone began a good work in you and He will carry it through to completion” in spite of me. Tears sting as I am freshly aware of His redemptive work in these Joshuas. They have the experiential knowledge and courage from their time in the tent of meeting. I truely believe they will take whatever land God directs them to. Thank you God! Thank you for your mercy and grace. Let our children run to you with fervor. May they use my life as a ramp and run up my back to you for your purposes and glory.

    • 19.1
      Patti says:

      Well said. You must be a writer, as your comment was so beautifully written.
      Blessings on your day,
      Patti Hayes

  20. 20
    Kecia says:

    It’s stories like this that make me love you!

  21. 21
    Wife & 2 Boys' Mom says:

    THANK YOU for your reflections this morning. Straight from your memory to my heart. God knew I needed them on this very day.

  22. 22
    fuzzytop says:

    Dear Beth,

    Thanks for sharing this story with us… It blessed my socks off! I love your idea about writing scriptures to share with your family – what a legacy!

    Last summer my daughter (14) was going through some hard times – she was praying a lot of ‘unspoken’ requests and I was praying for her. One day she announced we should have a prayer box, and she made one that now sits in our dining room. It is a cardboard box with a slot in the top, covered in brown paper upon which she and I wrote some Bible verses related to prayer. There are little slips of paper and a pen next to the box, and it suprises me how almost everyone that comes to our house will write something on a slip of paper, fold it up and drop it in the box.

    Love and hugs,
    Adrienne

    • 22.1
      Warm in Alaska says:

      Hey Adrienne! Loved this idea – esp that it came from your precious girl! I think we might need to try something like this out at our home, too. Thanks for sharing.

      • fuzzytop says:

        Hi Carolyn!

        I too loved that it was her idea – let me know if you start one for your family.

        Hope to see you in Houston!

        Love,
        Adrienne

  23. 23
    Ashley says:

    *Tears pouring down…* I needed that encouragement this morning. Thank you. <3 A blessed day to all of my sweet Siestas.

  24. 24
    Mrs.( Maverick of my own) says:

    Oh…it can be so hard to wait for leadership. It can be heart wrenching to watch the seedling and hope for a big tall cedar. I am in the…not so patiently…but faithfully hopeful waiting phase. I love what the Lord has done in my life and with my faith through his Word that started with your Daniel study several years ago. Now, I pray for my Maverick who is so amazing in so many ways…but could be even more amazing in the Lord’s ways. Thank you for the sweet reminder for hope today. I love the scripture cards…may just have to use the syrup covered breakfast table instead for our altar. I am so anxious to see what my Jesus will do with my man. Have a beautiful day.

  25. 25
    Stephanie says:

    Oh how I needed to see this today. My first born daughter is at church camp this week for the very first time and I just got a text from a woman I highly respect as a Godly woman saying that my sweet girl was set apart for something special. She really seems to be following Jesus at 10 years old and I feel like such a failure as her mother so many times. We have family devotions as often as we can, and they seem to be such a mess so many times. I want to be the mother she needs to be molded into a Godly young woman, but I fail so often. So thankful that I am not the ultimate potter! Thank you for this, for such a time as this.

  26. 26
    Bethany says:

    This message was for me today. Thanks be to God. I am sure countless women will write and say the same thing. I am in my mid 30’s, have 3 young kids and a husband that I want to kick into spiritual leadership. I have to remember it’s God’s timing and not mine. I also sometimes feel like we are never going to make it and do I even want to? The world lies to me and tells me it would be easier to just get out. But then God reminds me of his commands and promises and those who have gone before me. It is so encouraging. And that is what I need most right now. Thank you for bravely sharing your life with us. And thank Keith too!

  27. 27
    Valley Siesta says:

    Words can’t express the comfort I received from these words. My family is in the midst of a separation, my husband left and due to many miscommunications our family is broken, temporarily but possibly permanently. Your words give me hope that other families struggle too, and with God they persevere. I fear my husband has given up, but I can’t, I stand on my vow to God and to my husband that maybe through this process he will gain back is fight–his fight for his family and his willingness to surrender back to God.

    Blessings to you Beth!

  28. 28
    Laura Adams says:

    Wow, Thanks for sharing that, it blessed me. God is Good

  29. 29
    Luv2Praise says:

    Thanks for the walk down memory lane Beth. You always touch my heart with your honesty and authenticity. So many of us have struggled with the “control” issues of leading our families spiritually. Thank the Lord that He controls all things! This past year has been the hardest year for our family but through the hardships I have seen the blessings that God has delivered. We are leaning on Him and His promises. Thanks for reminding us how faithful He is. Love to you and your family.

    Lori

  30. 30
    Kim T says:

    You have NO idea how much this touches my heart … I just simply adore you, Beth! Thank you for taking the time, for sharing and being a light in my life. This is such a sweet story of family and faith … one I plan to incorporate in some way with my family.

  31. 31
    Andrea says:

    Oh Beth, this brought tears to my eyes. I think that you and I are alike, and my husband and Keith are alike. I draw such inspiration from your advice and stories in this area. Thank you!

  32. 32
    Kristen says:

    Beth,
    You have no idea how much this post blessed me. I am in the thick of it with a 15, 13, and 12 year old. We are a ministry family but that does not mean we are perfect – not by any means. Thank you for sharing this. It just confirms so much to me. Little acts of obedience, being sensitive to the leading of the Spirit at home, all of those things add up to a life well lived. The little things matter!
    I’m sure this blessed your girls as well. I would love to hear their two-cents’ worth about the “family altar”!
    I love and respect you all so much.

  33. 33
    Lin says:

    “He was not likely to do it without us.”

    I think that’s His word for me today.

    I have walked that trail you speak of, wanting that spiritual leadership from my man… my way… meeting my expectation. Never realizing how much more that it was of me than of God until this very moment. I think for me, it was a way of hiding from my own responsibility in the matter. I clung desperately to my “I can’t because he hasn’t or he won’t”. And in my mind, I didn’t have to take responsibility.

    In the past year I have been left strangely bereft of human leadership~ spiritual or otherwise. It has been a season of change for me and for my children. Almost a year after the death of my husband, I realize how hard it is to break old and very bad habits. I think I’ve secretly clung desperately to my “I can’t”, and so I didn’t, I haven’t. I think I’ve just been expecting Jesus to do it for me.

    But Jesus is not likely to do it without me, is He?

  34. 34

    Oh if we could only take control of our families, all would be well wouldn’t it? LOL And yet we are not in control. God is even when it seems He isn’t and even when it doesn’t make sense.

    I continue to pray for my family to come to know the Lord and things continue to be a mess, but I can see God using what meant for evil for good. It seems the more I pray the more tumult comes into their lives. Last spring I prayed and asked God to show up and be who only He could be and do what only He could do and then I went to bed. The next morning, I got a call that my brother had suddenly died in the night. I do not know if he knew the Lord. That event has set about many hard things for his kids 19-23 in ages. They are all deep in sin and need the Lord desperately. One sibling has turned against the others and what she has meant for evil toward them God is using for good although it has been hard on my dear Mom. I think if we applied to the Jerry Springer show we would fit right in.

    I can see God working, but it is a gory mess. God does make all things new and beautiful. By the very nature of that passage it means that things are an ugly mess that needs to be fixed and only He can fix it. I tend by nature to be more resourceful than prayerful. Only prayer and desperate dependence on the Lord will change things as He changes me and my family. I wish we were most distanced from the gory mess and closer to the all things beautiful and new thing, but we are where we are–and even in the mess God is here, working, in control and loving us even though we cannot see or comprehend.

    • 34.1
      anonymous this time says:

      Dear Sister, as one who is walking where you are walking, I can and will pray for you with an understanding heart. God knows your name and mine as well as the names of each of our family members. Keep the faith and keep standing in the gap for them. I am so sorry for your loss and am praying now that God’s unfailing love will rest upon you even as you trust in Him.

  35. 35
    Kay says:

    Thanks for that post, Beth. Since my daughter is entering her senior in high school, I have been remembering/reminiscing and wondering if I have done enough, prayed enough, or been the mom God wanted me to be.

    Her recent post on FB tickled(and encouraged)me:

    “Ok. so I was sitting here thinking about the deep things in life as usual. and figured up that putting your entire life in Jesus is like dipping your whole piece of chicken in hibachi sauce. Theres no way you’d ever want to turn back.”

    Only by God’s grace. HUGE GRIN!

  36. 36
    Michelle says:

    Beth,
    You have no idea what that story has meant to my heart this morning! I have my own Jesus loving maverick! I read this story in your book Feathers From My Nest. I needed the reminder about my role as wife. Thank you so much for sharing.

  37. 37
    Carol from Coopersburg says:

    Beth, thanks for making me feel better about my life & family, about not being perfect, about expectations that I shouldn’t have—by being honest and upfront about your life.
    May God continue to bless ya’ll abundantly!!!
    XOX

  38. 38
    Sandra Harvey says:

    Beth, thank you for sharing this beautiful story, you just described my family and me, LOL.
    I am in the place that you are describing now and I know that one day I will be able to say the same things about my family because I know to whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day.
    I am taking God at His Word and trying to be obedient to what He tells me to do. Your story has given me hope today.

    • 38.1
      Sandra Harvey says:

      I meant to take out the “LOL” part, I was typing something different and forgot to delete that part.

  39. 39
    cindy says:

    This reminds me of my continued attempts to learn how to pray out loud so my boys have some idea how I talk to God. I was brought up Catholic and Catholics just don’t pray the same way that other Christians seem to. Catholic prayers are rote prayers that are memorized. After years of searching found my “home” in a non-denominational Christian church and was baptized a year and a half ago. I have also taken many Beth Moor bible study courses at a local Baptist Church with my dear friend Susan and love how easily people seem to be able to pray out loud. It’s natural. It’s beautiful. It looks so easy……HA!

    So, I need practice praying out loud. I have a wonderful relationship with God and talk to him all the time. I just don’t do it out loud. I need practice. My attempts to simply say grace before meals is a hoot. My boys are 16 and 14 and they just look at me. “Please, can we just go back to ……..” (something rote without meaning they picked up in preschool) Me, “No, you are just going to have to let me practice. I’ll get better at this…Be patient” So, they sit and they endure my feeble attempts to pray out loud so I can set an example of talking to our God and thanking him for the many, many blessings he has graced our family with. It’s hilarious. I simply cannot do it in front of strangers yet…..Someday….

  40. 40

    Siesta Mama,

    I cannot tell you how encouraging it is to hear that your family is/was NORMAL! I am often amazed at the strong, faithful, Godly daughters you and your man raised up. I ask myself, “How can I possible pass this heritage on to my children as Beth did to hers?” And you showed me, yet again, that I am.

    In this season, where we have five ranging in age from 3 – 13, prayers at mealtimes, bedtime, and in tough times are about all we manage. The trend these days is the “family devotional time,” and I’m a miserable failure at it. And frankly, my man isn’t fully there yet. Oh, he loves God and leads us well, but his daily time with the Lord consists of conversation in the truck on the drive to work. The daily Bible time is not part of his routine right now.

    I’ve learned to be okay with the fact that we express our walks with the Lord differently. And I’ve learned that I can’t be the Holy Spirit in his life, convicting him of all his issues. 😉 So for now, I wait for my man to take the lead on the whole family devotional time. And knowing that the way we’re muddling through isn’t all that different from how your family did it back in the day – that is a mighty encouragement to this mother’s heart!

  41. 41
    Fellow wife & mom of two says:

    Oh Beth, your story sounds so familiar in many ways. I wish I’d been as creative in dealing with our situation. I wish I had learned to put into practice 1 Peter 3:1-2. My husband is a believer, and a quite faithful one at that, but not the leader that “I think” he should be. Of course, I am pretty stubborn in how I think things should be. Anyway, I’m sure if the principle reaps rewards for an unbelieving husband, it surely would for surely would for one who is a fellow heir in Christ. I need to have the “the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight” (v.5.) Either God would change my husband or change me (or both) into what He desires for us.

  42. 42
    connie says:

    Beth, He is Good isn’t He? Thanks for reminding me to recount His mercies. But, He doesn’t let it be “nice” does He? Oh well… since we can’t have nice -I’ll cling to good and strong.

  43. 43
    Tricia says:

    Thank you for sharing this piece of your family legacy with us. I love your openness and realness! Like you said, this is not a discipline for everyone to take up but it can propel us with ideas. We are to “spur one another on” and this is a great idea. You are such a blessing and have spurred me on in many ways!! My family is one that struggles with the exact issues in this post. Both my husband and I are believers. My oldest daughter suffered a brain injury at 18mo. that left her disabled similar to CP and our other daughter just gave her life to Christ 2 weeks ago. We struggle with raising a godly daughter in this day. It seems like it is getting harder and harder and I worry about it alot. The world is very cruel and will swallow our kids so we have to be aware and engaged. We struggle balancing our life between doctors, therapies and giving time to our typical daughter not to mention couple time. We do our best but we also know that it is all GOD! Only God..period. Thank you for being such an encouragement to me. I agree that if we push our husbands they slow down. All we do is pray, pray and pray some more!

  44. 44
    Jenn says:

    I needed to hear this today. I needed to hear your thoughts on a husband who does not do faith just the same as me. Thank you for your openness.

  45. 45
    Alyssa says:

    Thank you, Mrs. Beth, for your honesty, and for sharing your life, with all of its imperfections. As a 1st generation Christian woman in my family, it’s nice to know I’m not alone, but have a woman like you that has walked a little ahead of me. I’m asking the Lord to help me break free of the bondage and dysfunctional mess the women in my family are living in. Only by His grace….

  46. 46
    Jane from SC says:

    Beth It was so good for me to hear about the Moore family life. For you to lay out that YOU of all people struggled was a biggy for me. I forget that even those who are in ministry have been through some of the same things our families go through in life. I wanted so desperately to find a Christian man and at 25 I found a wonderful man but like Keith he did not become a Christian until the week after we got engaged. He was baptized and we had the most beautiful Christian wedding almost 29 years ago filled with Scripture and vows that we recited with Scripture in them. However, like you Beth he was not walking like “I” wanted him to when our kids came along. But through persistent prayer all these years not only have I grown and finally read the Bible through last year! But he is reading the Bible through and growing right before my eyes! Sunday he gathered our young adult children to tell them thank you for being such wonderful kids and what a delight it has been to be their father but that he wanted them to do one thing to make his Father’s Day – get into the Word and went on to tell them about his walk with God this past year and what he has found as he reads the Scriptures and how God has changed not only his life but his business and how it is growing and just encouraged them to read even if it was just a sentence a day. What an answer to prayer! Today my husband is 54 and what a joy it has been to be on the journey that God has brought us through as a couple. Even when we lost our home our kids saw us continue to love and serve God and felt His presence in our family. I just wanted to say thanks for being so transparent today. Love you girl!

  47. 47
    Kim S. says:

    I absolutely love your Blog!! Thank you so much for such inspiration, Love and spiritual guidance for all of us Moms, Wives, Sister’s in Christ.
    Kim Short

  48. 48
    Michele says:

    Beth, thanks for sharing that. Encouraged me today.

  49. 49
    kendal says:

    i love your treasures….i love finding the old in desk drawers, poring over the past. trying to recall sights, sounds, smells. like you, for 15 years, i longed for chris to take the spiritual lead, but until he was completely transformed (he played church for 35 years) by the blood of jesus christ, that leadership wasn’t there, no matter what i did. his transformation and leaderhsip have transformed out boys. hallelujah!

  50. 50
    Michele says:

    Oh Beth, thank you for sharing your heart with us.

    Last week I was expecting to hear something big from God. When I got home from Deeper Still, I found out that I had a phone job interview on Monday. I was excited because the job fit well with my background, was in a great location (Dulles, VA), and seemed to be a fantastic opportunity.

    Well, I bombed the interview because I couldn’t remember specifics from technical codes (that I haven’t seen in almost 3 years) and we realized all my licenses are expired. I received word a few days later they were no longer interested in me. I was crushed.

    But as soon as that heaviness hit me, God reminded me of His truth. I felt inept, unworthy, and unwanted, and He reminded me of my inifinite worth as His creation and in Christ. I felt disappointed and fearful about finding a job, and God reminded me that He does have a plan, He is in full control, and told me that if I believe that, which I do, then I have no excuse to be discouraged.

    Even though my emotions wanted to throw a fit, God kept reminding me of His promises in His Word.

    So regarding those two verses: Dt 4:23 – I still remember what it feels like to be bullied, beaten, and kicked to the curb by depression. But this time, we won, and I will 1Chr 16:12 “Remember the wonders He has done…”

    Praise God for all He has done and continues to do in us!

Leave a Reply

To receive a daily digest of comments on this post, enter your email address below: